


And Bingo Was His Name-O

by ConsultingSnowQueen



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Spoilers, F/M, Marvel Universe, Post-Avengers: Endgame (Movie)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-28
Updated: 2019-05-28
Packaged: 2020-03-20 16:20:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,786
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18996196
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ConsultingSnowQueen/pseuds/ConsultingSnowQueen
Summary: After Steve decided to live life on his own terms, Bucky finds it hard to cope.  Sam and Bucky visit Steve at a nursing home and chaos ensues.





	And Bingo Was His Name-O

**Author's Note:**

> For Bridget
> 
> There may be a part 2 depending on if people like this or if Bridget yells at me. :)

Bucky and Sam stared at each other from their seats at the table. An empty pizza box was before them, stained with grease and littered with discarded pepperoni slices and crust. Bucky was staring at it as if it was giving him all the answers of the decades he missed as well as the future. Sam just looked as if he was going to puke.  
“Are you sure this was a good idea?” Bucky asked, his voice cracking slightly.  
Sam looked at him and shook his head. “Man, I told you to order from the place on the other side of town. Every time you order from this place, you get sick. Last time we stopped some petty crimes, you threw up on the bad guys because you insisted on getting this cheaper option.”  
Bucky rolled his eyes at this and sighed.  
“I meant the whole ‘Steve’ situation. I can’t stop thinking about him.”  
“Bucky, it’s been over a month. He’s happy.”  
Bucky couldn’t believe Sam no matter how much he wanted to. In his mind he knew he was being irrational. Still, the thought of Steve alone in a bed with a knitted blanket over him filled Bucky with dread. This feeling only lingered into the next day and grew when Bucky and Sam walked down the plain hallways. The smell made Bucky crinkle his nose in disgust. It was all so plain and repetitive. He hated it so much. The workers all looked so bored in their plain uniforms. Everything was the same until the duo entered a bigger room with lots of tables and lots of people hunched over those tables looking quite aggressive and severe.  
“B4!” a loud, clear voice announced.  
“Bingo!”  
Bucky and Sam looked over to the source of the Bingo to see Steve Rogers surrounded by papers with large, colorful dots decorating them. He looked extremely proud as the tween volunteer looked over his pages and called out letter-number combinations.  
“That’s a Bingo,” the man at the front of the room confirmed as Steve high-fived the volunteer.  
“I told you he was fine,” Sam muttered to Bucky, who just rolled his eyes as Steve spotted the two and waved them over.  
“Got some aggressive Bingo playing going on over here,” Sam said enthusiastically, nodding to the older ladies surrounding Steve. They were like teen girls swooning as they stared at him and his many Bingo daubers. Their attention soon turned to the younger, fit men in front of them. One was sizing up Bucky, much to the amusement of Sam. Bucky didn’t notice, keeping his hands stuffed in his pockets.  
“Yes, we do. Paula taught me some strategies on how to properly monitor several sheets at a time, and I must say, they’ve paid off. Ladies, these are my friends, Sam and Bucky.”  
They muttered greetings as they helped Steve pack up his daubers and bag to take back to his room.  
“That one is cute, but he needs a haircut,” one lady muttered as Bucky looped arms with Steve to help him walk back to his room.  
“Buck, I can walk just fine.”  
Bucky knew this but it didn’t stop him from trying to help, anyways. Back in the ‘40s, it had been this way. Bucky helped Steve. Everything changed after that. It was always Steve going after Bucky, Steve protecting Bucky, Steve starting a civil war to keep Bucky, and Steve doing whatever it took to get Bucky back.  
“I know” was all Bucky could manage. How was he supposed to convey the complex thoughts in his head? He couldn’t tell Steve that he felt like he owed it to him. Steve would just feel awful then, so Bucky kept his mouth shut. That was a good idea, too, because Steve suddenly chuckled.  
“What?” Sam asked, smiling at Steve’s outburst.  
“I wanna peek in this room, and I think Bucky will want to as well.”  
Bucky frowned at this, his brows furrowing in confusion. Steve knocked on the doorframe and an elderly woman’s voice called out, “Come in!”  
Steve led his two friends in and they were met with a woman around Steve’s age gasping.  
“Sergeant Barnes, is that you?” she asked, leaning up from her bed and squinting at Bucky. Bucky squinted back and then suddenly widened his eyes.  
“Dot?”  
“It is you!” she cried out, reaching towards him as he picked up on her intent and awkwardly and gently hugged her with his real arm. He made sure his metal arm was behind his back. “I was wondering how you were getting on after all those documents got out. I didn’t think I’d ever see you again. We all thought you were dead—oh my, do you need a haircut and a shave!”  
Sam was looking from Steve to Bucky to Dot with arched eyebrows.  
“I dated Bucky here back in the good old days!” Dot said, proudly. “All the girls wanted a date with him. I considered myself lucky!”  
Sam tried to hold in a fit of giggles but found himself failing. He covered this with a cough. “Did you now?”  
Bucky glared at Sam, who was clearly enjoying this revelation.  
“Well, Sergeant, I didn’t know you were a lady killer!” Sam continued, clapping Bucky on the back.  
“Shut up,” Bucky muttered.  
“When’s the last date you’ve been on, Bucky?” Dot asked, innocently.  
“Yeah, Buck, when was the last date you’ve been on?” Sam echoed, flashing another prize-winning grin.  
“I’ve… been a little… busy…”  
“Doing what?” Dot asked and Steve hid an eye-roll. She was far too naïve.  
“Chilling in Wakanda,” Sam answered for him, snickering at his own comment.  
“We should get going. Your family is probably going to visit today,” Steve said, ushering Sam out before Bucky killed him in front of the kind old lady.  
Dot stretched her arms out for another hug from Bucky, and Bucky shuffled back over and leaned down.  
“Come visit me again, Bucky. It’s so nice to see you and know you’re okay now.”  
Bucky had a good idea just how nice Dot found it to see him when he felt her discreetly grab his butt. Sam noticed this and had to turn away before he completely lost it. Bucky shuffled back into the hall and cleared his throat.  
“Thanks for that, Steve.”  
Steve chuckled and walked into his own room and sat in a rocker. Bucky and Sam sat in chairs across from him.  
“Are you sure you’re okay here?” Bucky finally blurted out.  
“Buck—” Sam began, rolling his eyes.  
“You’re not too lonely? Bored? You can come stay with us!”  
Steve sighed and shook his head. “Buck, I know you’re worried, and I get it. I’m happy here. I have friends. I do things. I leave when I want to and I can stay with you guys whenever, but you both have responsibilities that I can’t interfere with that.”  
Bucky opened his mouth to continue, but he was interrupted by the fast approaching sound of bells and the patter of footsteps. Sam and Bucky both jumped in their seats when a blur of black and brown jumped into Steve’s lap and began attacking his face. Bucky rose to help, but Steve waved him away and began laughing hysterically as a dachshund happily licked his face.  
“Oh God, Captain Rogers, I am so sorry! Bingo bolted here right when I got off the elevator. He couldn’t wait to see you!”  
Bucky and Sam turned to see a younger woman standing in the doorframe. Bucky’s stern face softened immediately as she sighed and smiled as Steve waved away her concerns. She wore all black, but not in the way Bucky did. Her style was quirky and there were fresh splashes of color, such as the ribbon in her curly, dark hair, or the bright, oversized glasses she wore. She was nerdy and it showed in her gestures, her voice, her everything. Sam squinted at her quirkiness but stopped when he noticed Bucky. Bucky was gazing at her as though he was looking at the Mona Lisa. His lips were parted, his eyes were glossed over, and his eyebrows were raised.  
“Oh, I always look forward to seeing you and Bingo, Mia.”  
The girl, Mia, looked to be in her twenties. She looked at her dog happily nestling into Steve’s lap and yawning before continuing his panting.  
“Simple dog,” she muttered. “But he really likes you, Captain.”  
“And I really like him.”  
Sam noted the dog’s vest which read ‘therapy dog’ on it.  
“So, you’re a volunteer here?” he asked, finally speaking up.  
She jumped slightly, scared out of her daze by Sam’s sudden voice.  
“Oh, where are my manners? I’m Mia and this is Bingo. He’s my therapy dog. I trained him and we go to hospitals and nursing homes together.”  
“Sam Wilson,” he responded, holding out his hand. “I work as a counselor for veterans with PTSD. If you and Bingo are willing to visit, I know a lot of dog lovers.”  
Mia happily shook his hand and nodded. “Bingo lives for attention, so we’ll definitely visit if you’d like.”  
Steve watched as Bucky continued staring and began to fidget when Mia finally noticed him. Her smile softened to one that assured him that she wasn’t going to be too hyper for him or embarrass him. He tried to return the smile but felt himself faltering.  
“Captain Rogers, is this your grandson?”  
Bucky’s eyes widened. Even Steve and Sam found themselves shocked, but Steve took complete advantage of the situation after looking from Mia to Bucky and repeating this several times.  
“Oh, yes! Yes, this is my grandson, Bucky! He is definitely my grandson, and he is single! Would you like his number?”  
Bucky felt his face heat up as his eyes remained wide. Even Sam was horrified by Steve’s boldness. Mia, however, didn’t bat an eye. She jerked her head, a sign for Bingo to jump off Steve’s lap, and reconnected his leash. She stood straight, pulling a marker out of her pocket, and walking towards Bucky. Still completely struck, Bucky didn’t bother moving when she pulled his hoodie sleeve up (thankfully on his real arm) and wrote on his arm.  
“Tell ya what, Cap… I’ll just write my info here, and if your friend wants to call me for Bingo, he can look at your grandson’s arm. And if your cute grandson wants to call me for dinner, he can look in the mirror. Hopefully one of them will call me,” Mia said, walking to the door, but not forgetting to wink at Bucky.  
“I hate you, Steve,” Bucky said when she was finally out of earshot.  
Steve only chuckled and high-fived Sam.


End file.
